Archive for April, 2008

New Retail Pricing

April 25th, 2008 @ 3:30 pm

We, at ooma, are dedicated to eliminating monthly phone bills for US calling. To make it even easier to switch to ooma, we’ve introduced a new package of hardware and features called ooma Core. This offer comes with the award-winning ooma Hub™ device and the ooma Scout™ device, bundled with unlimited US calling, caller-ID, call-waiting, and voicemail, all for $249 with no monthly fees.

New customers will get to try out ooma’s enhanced calling features with a free trial of ooma Premier. This bundle includes the Instant Second Line™, the Broadband Answering Machine™ with real-time message-screening, Send to Voicemail, Do Not Disturb, a second personal number with private voicemail, and more. After the trial, new customers can subscribe to ooma Premier for $12.95 per month or $99 per year.

For those of you who purchased the ooma Hub device for $399, we’ve already upgraded you to ooma Premier for Life. This gets you a lifetime subscription to ooma’s enhanced calling features with no monthly charges (this offer is good for the life of the ooma Hub device)! We’ll also throw in complimentary number porting and an extended three-year warranty (valued at $79 and $69, respectively) to show our appreciation for your ongoing support.

We hope you’ll take some time to check out our redesigned Web site, explore the new features in the ooma Lounge, and participate in our engaging customer forum. We look forward to hearing what you think.

New Features – Personal Numbers and Private Voicemail

April 25th, 2008 @ 3:24 pm

We’re delighted to announce the first of many breakthrough enhancements for your ooma system! Customers can now add multiple phone numbers and private voicemail accounts!

This means you can assign phone numbers for every member of your family! Each number can be set to ring on all the phones in your home or just on individual ooma devices. Now, when a phone call comes in for your talkative teenage daughter, only the phone connected to her Scout will ring, leaving the rest of your home in peace. All ooma Premier customers get to choose a second phone number in any calling area of the US. You can add up to eight additional phone numbers for $4.95 each per month.

Personal phone numbers come with a password-protected voicemail box and Lounge account to customize calling preferences, such as voicemail greetings and ring patterns.


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We’re also offering number porting for a one-time fee. So if you’ve been waiting to drop your landline and eliminate monthly bills for US calling and bundled features, now is the time! Reaction, so far, has been wildly enthusiastic:

“Delighted to say once my number was ported I no longer use a landline, loved calling to have my landline service disconnected,” said Mary R.

“Just ported my long time local number to ooma. Dumped Verizon!” praised Russell L.

Lastly, we hope you’ll take some time to explore our newly re-launched Web site at www.ooma.com. Let us know what you think! Your input keeps us on our toes!

Spotlight Employee: Feroz Ali

April 24th, 2008 @ 3:11 pm

Job: Director of Network Operations
Mantra: If I love it, I build it (or at least make it faster).

When I first heard about ooma through a former colleague, I have to admit I had my doubts.After years of running 24×7x365 network operations at DirecTV and 8×8, I decided to ease into an early paid retirement or, in other words, enter the field of management consulting. But then I heard about this cool little device that was going to revolutionize the landscape of home telephony, and I couldn’t resist going in for a quick meet-and-greet. That was back in September of 2006, although it seems more like last Tuesday. And that former colleague of mine? He now sits in the cubicle beside me. Since then, I’ve assembled a great team of leaders (and friends), who’ve helped architect the robust service infrastructure into what it is today.

Of course, challenge is nothing new to me. I’ve always been something of a thrill-seeker. As a teen, I literally kicked butt as a champion amateur boxer, winning several regional divisions, including the Golden Gloves (sorry, the annoying editor made me include this).

But, hey, I’m a lover, not a fighter. So around ten years ago, I threw down my gloves and picked up a guitar pick and a wrench… When I’m not whittling away the hours with my team, I can be found (or at least heard) careening down the racetracks of NorCal in my 1989 IROC-Z Camaro that I began rebuilding in 1997 [check out the video below!].

http://www.ooma.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/sac925-23.flv  

As for my bike? I’ve been rigging and riding my beloved Yamaha R1 with the same crew of 30 or 40 friends, many of whom I’ve known since age 13. Of course, we’ve added a few junior additions to the mix, but it hasn’t stopped us from hitting the road loud and hard.

My greatest passion outside of work (and, umm, home), however, is music. I just formed a new band a few months ago. Our major influences include Stone Temple Pilots, Zeppelin, Rush and Pearl Jam. We’ll be putting together a set of originals by summer, since we’re not the cover type. We’re still searching for a name, so any suggestions are welcome!

I was also asked whether my penchant to peek under the hood and rebuild extends to my personal life. But on that question, I respectfully decline a reply.